Google to develop child-friendly search engine, browser & YouTube

Some welcome news for parents and schools – Google is to develop child-friendly versions of its search site, Chrome browser and YouTube.

Pavni Diwanji, Google’s vice-president of engineering, is heading the project, and revealed that the company was aiming to make modified versions designed for children aged up to 12.

“The big motivator inside the company is everyone is having kids, so there’s a push to change our products to be fun and safe for children.”

As an example, she said a child searching for “trains” on the modified version of Google’s search page should see information about Thomas the Tank Engine rather than links to train timetables and ticket-booking sites.

The child-friendly versions will also feature tools that let parents monitor and manage how much time their kids spend online and what they view.